Rep. Chris Van Hollen

In the News

October 29, 2013 | Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) are charged with trying to negotiate a compromise on the budget -- no small task with the divide between the two parties these days. But we've found some common ground in their campaign finance history -- answer our quiz and you could win a CRP prize!

February 12, 2013 | The owner of a Wisconsin brewery who will sit with Michelle Obama at tonight's speech has also contributed to several Democratic causes, including the president's campaigns. Also, Gabby Giffords' super PAC will run its first ad before and after the State of the Union in select markets, and public employee unions rally on Capitol Hill today to protect federal workers in sequestration negotiations.

January 15, 2013 | The auto industry may be showing off at the big show in Detroit this week, but many candidates have already seen the industry's best side. Also, the hospital industry fends off important cuts in the fiscal cliff legislation.

July 27, 2012 | The Center for Responsive Politics joins an appellate amicus brief arguing that donors supporting electioneering communications must be disclosed, while the FEC clarifies its policy in the wake of a lower court ruling in the case.

July 13, 2012 | New versions of the DISCLOSE Act, this time tailored to gain more support, will soon be put to the test. Ralph Lauren takes fire for Chinese-made Olympic duds, but he contributes to home-grown politicians. And in the Massachusetts Senate race, record hauls for the candidates while outside groups mostly hold their fire.

June 19, 2012 | On Wednesday, the Center for Responsive Politics will host a conference at the National Press Club on the growing role of groups like these -- politically active non-profit organizations -- in elections.

June 18, 2012 | A joint investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics has found that more than 100 nonprofits organized under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code spent roughly $95 million on political expenditures in the 2010 election compared with $65 million by super PACs.

May 18, 2012 | A secretive, well-funded group provided $44 million in 2010 to a host of 501(c)(4) groups, many of which were among the most active in airing ads attacking Democrats in the midterm elections. The Center to Protect Patient Rights was the source of more than half the budget of the group American Future Fund, for example. The Center's role in funding the groups has not previously been reported.

April 17, 2012 | It's Tax Day, and that means Grover Norquist is likely to be on the TV pundit circuit. But his own group, Americans for Tax Reform, needn't worry: it's a 501(c)(4) group, and thus tax-exempt. It's also exempt from reporting its donors, even though it can engage in a significant amount of political activity.

August 17, 2011 | As the supercommittee meets to come up with a way to cut $1.5 trillion from the national debt, the decisions about which programs will be axed will be made by lawmakers, who, by and large, are far wealthier than the average American.

August 17, 2011 | The 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction won't be legislating in a vacuum: They bring with them ties to particular industries and loyalties to particular issues.

June 10, 2011 | Cynthia Bauerly, chair of the Federal Election Commission, stressed the importance of disclosure in keeping voters informed and democracy strong in a talk with the consumer rights group Public Citizen on Thursday.

October 5, 2010 | Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a Tea Party-loving conservative who wants to shake up and remold the institution he currently calls home, stands above other lawmakers in the frontier of creative uses of leadership PACs to aide fellow candidates.

July 19, 2010 | Carte Goodwin, the 36-year-old attorney and former gubernatorial aide nominated by Democratic West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin to temporarily fill the seat of the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), may be a rising political star, but he hasn't left a long trail of federal-level campaign contributions in his wake.

July 13, 2010 | BUILDING THE PALIN BRAND: Since former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin quit the governorship of Alaska a year ago, she has cashed in on her name and worked to build her brand. According to Forbes, Palin's revenue has been approximately $10 million since she left office in July 2009.

June 24, 2010 | In a 219-206 vote on the House floor today, the House voted to pass H.R. 5175, known as the DISCLOSE Act, an acronym for Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections.

June 18, 2010 | In the aftermath of Thursday's congressional hearing on oil company's BP, we're getting this question over and over again: Who are the lawmakers who've received the most money from the company? While we've reported the answer time and again, no better time to rehash it than now.

May 21, 2010 | The committee hearing room was crowded as the House Administration Committee met on Thursday afternoon to markup a bill that has become a top priority for congressional Democrats and the Obama administration. After three and a half hours of debate, the DISCLOSE Act was ultimately reported favorably out of the committee on a 6-3 party-line vote.

April 29, 2010 | That's the message some House and Senate lawmakers sent to corporations, unions and trade associations today in unveiling legislation designed to increase transparency and accountability in the nation's campaign finance system.

April 29, 2010 | FIGHT TO DISCLOSE: Campaign finance observers are expecting Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to introduce a bill designed to mitigate the effects of the Supreme Court's decision in its January Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling. The Citizens United decision cleared the way for corporations to spend without limit on ads designed to influence elections.

April 26, 2010 | A bill to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system is due for a pivotal test vote in the Senate this evening, and all eyes will be on Senate Republicans, who promised to filibuster the legislation without certain changes.

March 9, 2010 | The Organization for International Investment, a trade association representing U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies, has hired a Democratic lawyer to lobby against legislation that would potentially ban its members' money from U.S. politics.

February 24, 2010 | Whether it was health care reform, cap and trade climate proposals or financial regulatory reform, Blue Dog Democrats were often at the center of Congress' top legislative fights. This caucus of 54 moderate and conservative House Democrats was also at the center of political fund-raising in 2009, the Center for Responsive Politics has found.

February 18, 2010 | DEAR NANCY: Several top political donors have written an open letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in support of legislation that will curb the effects of the Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case.

February 12, 2010 | OBAMA NAMES FAVORITES: In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek on Tuesday, President Barack Obama named several CEOs that he admires. None of them work on Wall Street. Some of the lucky few to make Obama's list: FedEx CEO Fred Smith, Honeywell CEO David Cote, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg and John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

February 3, 2010 | With the campaign finance world still trying to sort out the aftermath of Citizens United v. FEC, Marc Ambinder over at The Atlantic makes an interesting observation about the potential for corporate spending to surpass that of political parties.

January 27, 2010 | The past year proved to be a legislative whirlwind in Washington, with a new administration, and expanded Democratic majorities in Congress, tackling an ambitious legislative agenda against the backdrop of two wars and an economic meltdown. Twelve months later, the story is much the same.

November 2, 2009 | With Republican Diedre Scozzafava ending her bid in for Congress and endorsing her Democratic opponent Bill Owens, Owens and Conservative Party nominee Doug are now vying to win over Scozzafava's supporters, including those who lent financial support to her campaign.

October 16, 2009 | An initial Center for Responsive Politics analysis has found that sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives raised $48.2 million from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2009, based on the 336 reports we have in. The mean amount these lawmakers raised was $143,640, and the median amount was $126,680.

September 24, 2009 | The U.S. Senate vacancy created by the death of liberal lion Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is prompting another trip through the revolving door of political influence for longtime Kennedy ally Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Kirk was an aide to Kennedy from 1969 until 1977. He subsequently went on to join the law firm Sullivan & Worcester, where he has worked as a partner and lobbyist. Since 1989, he and his wife have also given $65,325 to Democratic candidates and committees.

July 9, 2009 | Over the past three weeks, Capital Eye has contacted members of five Capitol Hill committees responsible for drafting health care reform legislation this summer. Here are their responses (and non-responses) and the money they're collecting from various industries.

June 25, 2009 | Here's a cool tool that brings together data from various parts of OpenSecrets.org to show how much money each current lawmaker has raised from various health-related industries and the health sector overall since 1989 (including President Obama's haul).

February 12, 2009 | The close ties between Rep. John Murtha and a Washington lobbying firm raided by the FBI have put the powerful Pennsylvania Democrat under greater scrutiny. The lobbyists at PMA Group have been Murtha's fifth most generous campaign donor over time, but he is just one of 284 members of the 111th Congress who have collected money from the firm, which specializes in securing federal earmarks for its clients. In total, PMA Group's employees and its political action committee have given current members of Congress $3.4 million since 1989.

September 30, 2008 | Registered lobbyists aren't just getting the attention of lawmakers while on the job. Like any other member of the public, they, too, are able to contribute up to the maximum amount per election to candidates of their choice. The Center for Responsive Politics has identified the congressional races with candidates who are receiving the most money from registered lobbyists.

September 23, 2008 | The last time Congress seriously debated how to regulate the financial industry, the result was legislation that allowed the nation's largest banks to get even larger and take risks that had been prohibited since the Great Depression. A look back at that debate, which was over the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act, reveals that campaign contributions may have influenced the votes of politicians who, a decade later, are now grappling with the implosion of the giant banks they helped to foster.

September 11, 2008 | When the federal government announced two months ago that it would be seizing mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CRP looked at how much money members of Congress had collected since 1989 from the companies. On Sunday the government proceeded with the takeover and we've returned to our data to bring you the updates, this time providing a list of all 354 lawmakers who have gotten money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (in July we posted the top 25).

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